Dawn Barclay

Helping you align all that you do with your core values

About Dawn

Hello there, thank you for being here.

I’ve considered this about page for a very long time, wondering what to leave in and what to leave out. Apparently about pages are ‘kinda a big deal.

Living Moxie exists to create a more loving, inclusive, healthy and peaceful world by honouring our authenticity and having the courage to act upon it.

That would have to be extended to what I write here, having the courage to write ‘about me’ as opposed coming up with an ‘official bio’ type thing.

It has to be personal.

So here we go you, this is me:

You matter. Your life is valuable, so are you. Wherever you’re at, you are doing okay. You want to live an authentic life – whatever that means to you – the one where you can express fully who you are in your life, work and business. To stand up when perhaps in the past you’ve been told to sit down. To write your own permission slips. To align with and live your core. To say what is written in your heart. To create without fear and stepping back.

I meet people who are waking up to the realisation that all real, lasting, growth and transformation has to work from the inside out. With compassion, love, gentleness and fun I simply help you to find the courage to deploy the most authentic version of you.

Inside me is this:

  • A belief that we all have a contribution to make. I would love us to realise it.
  • I would love to see what could happen if we stopped falling for the biggest joke ever.  Even though I know it can be daunting to step into your truth, I know that you … we … can. Sure, it may take a little time to unlearn what we’ve been taught since we arrived, but I think the journey is worth it. I know it can be scary. I do know that.
  • I wonder what would happen if more of us accepted and answered our calling and followed the do what you love path, I do believe the world would positively benefit in a way I can’t even imagine right now.
  • I know many of us are scared to be seen and to show up as ourselves. But I also know it’s not all our fault that we’re scared. We are all caught in a culture and system that keeps telling us to sit down and not rock the boat. I want to whisper to you that there are so many on the edge of seats wanting to stand. I meet them every day.

About me

I love what I do but don’t ever ask me to give a 30-second elevator pitch. I don’t have one. I also don’t know my job title, it really depends on who I’m speaking to and what the moment asks for. If you need one though we could use Trainer, Coach, or Facilitator.

I love working with people. I believe connecting, communication and community are where the magic happens – leaving the road of me, joining the path of we – I try my best to create them at Living Moxie.

I’ve come to realise the older I get, the less I know. I love to play, to create, to start things when I don’t know about the how.

If you asked Myers-Briggs I’m an ENFP, and I’m off the scale as an HSP. I have qualifications in T&D, NLP, MI. But I’m tired of labels, they don’t make any sense to me. They exclude and separate us. The exact opposite of what Living Moxie is about.

I think I’m funny, some disagree. I cry when I see abuse of any form, on any form. I’m practising compassion. I will stand up and speak for injustice and inequality. I’m bold, but sensitive.  I dig to find my own inner courage at times. Laughing is my go-to emotion when I’m in awkward situations.

I am an optimist. I say yes to life (most days). I do worry sometimes I won’t have enough time to create all that I want to create.

My own core values are inclusion, honesty, integrity, courage and compassion. For real. I believe in ‘everyone in, everyone counted’.

I love witnessing people create what they once didn’t think was possible. My clients make me laugh. I love watching as people change their minds and transform their inner world and seeing the fallout as it impacts their outer reality. I love standing back and seeing things unfold. I’m a ‘trust the process’ kind of woman.

I align myself with love. My work automatically follows. Some freak out at that statement. I gave up worrying about that one a long ago.

Completely random stuff for those who like tidbits

  1. Being Scottish I have the accent of Maggie Smith in her role as Professor McGonagal in Harry Potter, and the vocabulary of a sinning sailor.
  2. I am a night-bird. Nope, more a morning person these days.
  3. I say out loud what I am thinking (yes, it has got me into trouble), coffee drinking, dog loving, cat caring, mostly sane human being.
  4. I practice daily what I teach so I can learn it myself.
  5. Hobbies include the dogs: walking them, camping with them, running about a field with them as they run through wee tunnels and fences and I try to keep up. I’m also a hobby to 2 cats (to them I am a full-time door-opening-shutting-person).
  6. I’m a firewalking instructor. What?  I mean, one of my loves is helping charities and non-profits, the best way I can do this is helping them organise brilliant fundraising events by using the tools I use in here for personal and professional development. But, there is another site for that.
  7. I have a geeky side which was a surprise to learn. 10 years ago I would never have thought that building websites and blogs would become a love of mine. Or fonts. I love fonts. It’s my own answer to a heroin addiction.
  8. Cats, dogs, furry and feathered creatures, if there is a campaign to save them, rescue them, raise awareness – I’m in there. You now know a vegan.
  9. I have some other love work going on all about the animal/human connection and pet bereavement support. Which has taught me that sometimes our passions aren’t just about what we get paid for, sometimes we have to build and create a piece of work because we know it just matters.
  10. I’ve been called Sparkly Barclay, Fairy Lights, Ms B, A Hard Hippy, Ass Kick-er, Miss Compassion, Brain-Flosser, Yoda, A Whizz, A Fecking Nightmare – so I really think it depends on who you ask.

What has led me to this work?

Like many of my clients, I can see now the thread that has been weaving in and out my life to arrive here with you today, and how my skills and experience can serve you.

It will again change, I’m sure of that, but right now here’s the story so far:

I hated school, it taught me about exclusion. It was the most valuable lesson I learned.

I found solace in the Drama Dept. There I could be myself. Drama was my first passion. I went to college for a year and studied Theatre Arts. I learned about commitment and hard work. Once finished I saw an advert for working with young people on residential holidays it said, ‘Do you have skills to share with children?’  I did. Drama. Art. I signed up.

I was in service to children at risk. They taught me about more about inclusion, equality, diversity, what it really means to make a difference. They taught me small acts of kindness can make a huge impact (sometimes without the giver ever knowing its reach). They taught me about resilience. They schooled me in person-centred working. They showed the effect of a lifetime of putdowns, and how simple it can be to help a person increase their self-efficacy by simple kindness. Compassion, they are responsible for my understanding of what it means, and about acceptance of what is. And they didn’t need to define or even know the words to show me.

I was asked to train new volunteers. I fell head over heels in love with adult learning: brain-friendly and accelerated learning to be specific.

University at 23 , this time for Community Arts. I still can’t draw, and never ask me to play you any instrument. But I fully believe that the arts and creativity are something that we cannot live without.

My passion – I knew at university – was working with people. I didn’t know at that time how to combine my love of training and adult learning, coaching with the arts, so arts went on the back burner as I figured it out and lived a little.

I had a couple of years trying on new career hats: I’m a trained reflexologist, reiki master, youth worker and for some reason still unknown to me I studied horticulture. Stuff I lasted a week in.

I then fell into careers and employability by accident. I went for a job interview for what I thought was in the Human Resource dept in a local college (to eventually enter the training dept), but it was actually for an employability and careers project which helped long term unemployed adults back into work. I didn’t get the job I went for, I was offered a Training and Development role in the project.

I have no idea how the hell I got the interview let alone the job I didn’t actually apply for. That was one of the biggest and best whoopsies I have ever made, I learned from every single client that came my way – their teaching was very similar to the young people. I wanted to tell you that snippet because I’m living proof that sometimes things do happen for a reason.

I don’t have the I hated the position so went self-employed story. I loved that work. Being self-employed was never really on my radar. It just happened on a whim.

I became self-employed. And here we are today. 14 years later.

I’ve spent 20+ years exploring, gaining qualifications and working with Accelerated Learning, NLP, Motivational Interviewing, Training & Development, Happiness at Work, Positive Psychology, Cognitive Psychology principles, and Resilience. 

I used to be evangelical about the tools and techniques. Today? Not as much. What really matters is removing the debris to see what’s at the core.

I written, created and delivered brain friendly, all-inclusive, rich and meaningful personal and professional development, employability, career development, and vocational learning programs for individuals, businesses, organisations, and teams.

But how does that help you?

  • I know the journey of remaining true to yourself and building a career/business around your passion. And I also know first hand the effects when you steer away from your core.
  • My coaching experience, skills, training and qualifications I will use to help you gain clarity on what it is you really want to do. I can get you unstuck fast for your life, career, work, business, ideas, and projects. I can help you overcome fear, doubt, and hurdles that are in your way.
  • My employability and careers guidance skills can help you make the transition in work you want to make, and offer you practical help to how to go about it. Tools? I have plenty of them.
  • My experience of working in the area of personal and professional development means I can help you with where it all begins, your thinking. We can work on your confidence, courage, esteem, I can help you remove the blocks and barriers that are stopping you creating what you know you are capable of.
  • My small business skills can help you create your value based business. Starting with you. I can help you build a great foundation, support you as you get clear on the intersection of what you love, what you offer and who to. I can show you the pitfalls to avoid, support you to get your message out in the world to the people you are most passionate about helping.
  • My commitment to person-centred working means that I will see you, the whole you. You are not what you do, to me you are a human being first.
  • My desire to create, my commitment to the arts means that I can help you in your creative career, project or business.
  • My desire to make a difference in this world means that I offer to you safe, inclusive, affordable, no-hype services. I want to help as many people as possible live their truth.
  • My commitment to inclusion means you can come to me at whatever stage you are at, whoever you are, whatever gender you are. 2nd? 3rd? Act. That’s fine. Being who you are, doing what you love and making a difference is not limited by time, circumstances or what you did or didn’t do until now.
  • My training skills, approach, and experience can help you create learning experiences for others. I can help you expand your message by supporting you to write, plan, deliver, lead, facilitate workshops, events, courses for people who want what you have to offer.

I offer you all of it.

And, I will do my darned best to remain true to myself and I’m sure I will fail with grace, pick myself up and try again. I will admit my mistakes to you. I will screw up but not beat myself up. I will always see as you whole and complete, messy and complex because I want you to see me the same way.